Ishan Kishan is set to make his eagerly anticipated return to red-ball cricket with the Buchi Babu Trophy in Tamil Nadu starting August 15. The southpaw was originally not a part of Jharkhand's squad for the pre-season tournament but will join the team in Chennai and lead them.
As per a report by ESPNcricinfo, Ishan expressed his desire to the selectors of Jharkhand to play domestic cricket and therefore may also lead the team in the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy season.
Notably, Ishan was removed from BCCI's list of centrally contracted players after he distanced himself from India's premier red-ball tournament during the 2023-24 season.
"With Ishan, it was never about ability. It was only about whether he was ready to return. The decision was with him. When he was not included in the initial list, it was only because we hadn't heard from him. The moment he expressed his keenness to return, he was drafted in," a JSCA functionary told ESPNcricinfo.
Ishan has played two Tests for India and both came against West Indies during India's two-match Test tour of the Caribbean in 2023. The southpaw didn't get much opportunity to bat on debut at Windsor Park in Dominica as he remained unbeaten on 1* off 20 balls.
However, in the second Test, he scored a 25 and struck a half-century (52*) in both innings of the Test match.
The 26-year-old has played 50 first-class matches in his playing career thus far and aggregated 3063 runs at an average of 39.26. He has already struck six hundreds and 17 half-centuries in his first-class career.
Notably, Ishan's return to India's Test squad seems like an extremely arduous journey. India used Dhruv Jurel behind the stumps during the home Test series against England earlier this year and with Rishabh Pant fully fit, Ishan will have to move heaven and earth to impress the selectors.
